All For Us

By Aricka Alexander

The second semester is in full swing at East Kennedy High School and with a new semester, comes new drama. Follow Tay, Chazz, Kilah, and Kylie as they continue to face the ups and downs of high school and being a teenager.

Kilah Jones and Kylie Bennett finally work up the courage to confess their feelings to one another thanks

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aricka Alexander
• Release date: Oct 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088033791

Book preview

Characters

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Main Character Descriptions

Kilah Calise Jones – A 16-year-old black girl born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She has milk chocolate skin, an oval-shaped face, and brown eyes. She usually wears Poetic Justice style braids cut into a bob. About 5’7 and 130 lbs. She loves music and radio shows and wants to be a radio talk show host one day. Her hobbies are photography, singing, and DJing. Outspoken and talkative. She is bisexual. She has a twin brother named Andre and a younger sister named Alexia. Her birthday is December 3rd, 1995. (Nicknames used: Ki, KiPie)

Kylie Anne Bennett – A 16-year-old black girl born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dark brown skin with brown eyes. Heart-shaped face and chubby cheeks. She usually wears her shoulder-length, coffee-brown hair up in a ponytail. She plays on the Varsity volleyball team, is very active, and loves the outdoors. Her hobbies are volleyball, building things with her dad, and watching movies. About 5’10 and 150 lbs. She came out as bisexual in 8th grade but later realized that she didn’t like boys like that at all. Lesbian. She is an only child. Her birthday is February 8th, 1996. (Nicknames used: Kyls)

Taylianah Kei'Ali Lukai – A 16-year-old girl from Honolulu, Hawaii. She's about 5'9 and 250 lbs. Maternal grandmother is Native Hawaiian although the rest of her family is Black. She has cookie butter skin, a round face, and brown eyes. She has long curly black hair. She suffers from anxiety and is terrified of heights. Her hobbies are playing tennis, making crafts/art, playing instruments, and collecting cute character figurines and plushies. She is a big fan of the K-pop group, SHINee. She has one younger brother named Jeridiah. Her birthday is February 14th, 1996. (Nicknames used: Tay, bun buns, Tay Tay Lu, Lia)

Chazz Christopher Louis – A 16-year-old black boy born and raised in Louisiana. He was born in Lafayette but moved to Baton Rouge when he was 7. He’s about 6'3 and 300 lbs. He has dark chocolate, brownie batter skin, dark brown eyes, and his hair is usually cut in a low fade. He is very muscular and well-toned. He is on both the varsity football and varsity basketball teams. His hobbies include swimming, playing the drums, playing video games, and collecting limited-edition Converse. He got held back a year in Elementary school because he couldn’t pass the LEAP test in 4th grade. He has a younger sister named Tai. His birthday is on June 10th, 1995. (Nicknames used: CJ)

Tyrin Terrell Carter – A 15-year-old black boy born and raised in Louisiana. He was born in New Orleans but moved to Baton Rouge in 2005. He still has a very thick New Orleans accent. He’s about 6’0 and 220 lbs. He has Hershey Kiss skin, brown eyes, and shoulder-length dreads. He has been playing basketball since elementary school. He is muscular and fit. His hobbies include playing basketball, playing video games, and chilling with his friends. He has a twin brother named Dannen, a younger sister named Grace, and a younger brother named Quincy. His birthday is September 14th, 1996. (Nicknames used: Ty)

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Important Supporting/Side Characters

Kanani KD Donchono – April 14th, 1996

Andre Dre Jones – December 3rd, 1995

Jorian Jori Bennett – December 30th, 1997

Elizah Liz/Lizah Carter – May 12th, 1997

Gabrione Bri Michaels – June 22nd, 1997

Kerick Mayfield – September 18th, 1996

Dannen Carter – September 14th, 1996

Daniel Washington – January 1st, 1996

Jeridiah Jeri Lukai – November 12th, 1997

Taimia Tai Meyers – March 15th, 1998

Ryan RC Chambers – November 6th, 1994

Monty Brown – May 30th, 1995

Keonna Singleton – March 6th, 1996

Shawn Carter – March 3rd, 1994

Ren Haney – July 20th, 1994

Ariel Williams – February 23rd, 1995

Shaynah Bailey – June 20th, 1996

Kyree Jammison – May 28th, 1996

India Bennett – April 23rd, 1994

One

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Kilah Jones - February 17th, 2012

But that makes no sense!

Of course, it doesn’t! Why would it? Tay says and laughs. She puts the card back in the stack as Kanani shakes the tiny hourglass. The whole point of this game is to say nonsense.

Oh, this is bonk. I huff. How are y’all so good?! I quit.

Tay, KD, and I had been hanging out at my house for the last few hours. About 30 minutes ago, KD talked us into playing this party game. In the game, you have to pick up a card that has the name of a place and describe it in the most whimsical and elaborate way within 1 minute. If the other players can guess it in 3 tries, you get 10 points. If not, then you lose 5 points. And yes, it was possible to end up with negative points. I was the prime example of that.

I sucked at this game because I wasn’t half as creative as those two were. Kanani had been taking acting classes since she was younger, so this was a breeze for her. Tay, on the other hand, was just naturally creative. Her imagination skills were unmatched and, so far, she’d won every round with ease. It was kinda impressive, not gonna lie.

This is one of the games I used to play with my family when I was younger, Kanani says as she starts to pack up the game. I was surprised when I found it in the store a few days ago.

Well, take it back and get a refund, I say. Tay just laughs.

Oh, Ki-Pie. She says, calling me by a childhood nickname. She comes over to me and pokes me in the side. It’s okay to be bad at one game. We’re all bad at something.

Yeah, I can’t cook, Kanani says. I would burn cheese in the microwave if you left me alone in the kitchen.

Oh, that’s bad. Tay and I laugh.

And I can’t ride a bike, Tay admits.

Kanani and I share a look before looking over at Tay. She couldn’t ride a bike? Was I hearing her right? She looks at us, confused. She then goes on to explain that she tried to learn when she was younger, but she fell too many times and was too anxious to try again. That’s understandable, to be honest. I couldn’t skate for the same reason.

It’s okay, I assure her. I can’t skate.

Neither can I. they both say at the same time. We look at each other, surprised, and then fall out laughing. I loved these girls so much.

Back in elementary, I didn’t have many friends. A lot of people told me I was too mean because I usually spoke my mind and, I admit, sometimes I would be a little harsh with the truth. When I was younger, I didn't understand why so many people hated me telling them how it is. I didn’t realize that what I was saying could be taken the wrong way. Because of this, I rarely had anyone to hang out with. Thankfully, Andre was a great brother and never let me be lonely. Most of the time I’d hang out with him and his friends, and he wouldn’t mind. That’s how I ended up getting close to Chazz and Tai. We were all like one big family at this point.

It got a lot better in middle school after I befriended Kanani. She was new and I saw that as my opportunity to finally make a friend of my own. Fortunately, we clicked! She was so sweet and never judged me for being myself, even when I talked too much or was too blunt. She loved and accepted me as I was, and I will forever love her for that. She’s the reason why I’m not ashamed of speaking my mind, although I do try to tone it down a bit now.

I went from being a girl with low confidence and not many friends to having all the confidence in the world. I think it was mainly because I finally had someone on my side that accepted me for who I was. Someone I could call my own friend. I wasn’t scared to make new friends and talk to people. By 7th grade, I was cool with even the people who had been making fun of me back in elementary.

Now here I was, in the presence of, not one, but two incredible friends. I honestly don’t care what we did or played, I just loved hanging out with them. They were my girls. I was there for them forever and I knew that they had my back too.

So, Kilah, Tay says and smirks, Any update on the whole Kylie situation?

A smile spreads across my face and I feel my cheeks get hot. I turn away as they both squeal with excitement. They started to bombard me with questions, wanting to know every detail. See, this is another reason why I loved them. They were so supportive of me and my crush on Kylie. They weren’t judgmental like a bunch of other people that I’d caught whispering about me in the hallways at school. They genuinely cared about my happiness.

Nothing much. We’ve just been talking on the phone…like every day. I cover my eyes.

No, wait, because that sounds so cute, Tay gushes. Have you confessed yet?

No, I can’t. I sigh. My heart starts beating fast just thinking about the possibility of us finally holding hands…or even kissing. Oh my god.

Kilah, you’ll never know how she feels about you unless you tell her how YOU feel, KD says. What if she’s waiting for you to say something first?

That’s a high possibility actually, Tay says, but more to herself. KD and I look over to her and she freezes like she’s said something she wasn’t supposed to. Uh…you know, maybe?

TAYLIANAH LUKAI!!! DO YOU KNOW SOMETHING?!

Y’all are tripping. she says and nervously laughs, So, what do you guys want to play next?

Don’t try to change the subject, Tay! Kanani yells and scoots closer to her. Spill!

Okay! Okay! She says and sighs. But remember that I tried to let it happen naturally.

Tay begins to tell us about how Kylie, Elizah, and their friend Gabrione had come to her homeroom class a few weeks ago. She said that Elizah was trying so hard to get Kylie to ask her if I was single, but she was shy about it. I feel my heart start to pound again. She wanted to know if I was single? Did that mean that she did like me?

I liked Kylie so much that I felt like my heart would explode every time I was near her. These feelings were hard to comprehend at times because I was still confused about why I felt this way about a girl. I didn’t dislike feeling this way though. It just felt natural, like this is how it was supposed to be. Like how it should've felt when I was with Daniel, but it didn’t.

I can’t believe you’ve been keeping this to yourself this whole time! Kanani tells Tay.

I’m sorry. I just thought It’d be better if Kylie told Kilah herself, Tay says. So, promise me that you’ll pretend like you don’t know, Ki.

I nod, unconsciously smiling again as I let my mind wander. What would it be like to finally be able to say that Kylie and I were an item? Just the thought of that possibility gave me butterflies in my stomach. Where would our first date be? How would we share our first kiss? What would we do on our first anniversary?

Okay, maybe I was thinking a little too far ahead, but I couldn't help it. I was excited but anxious about the near future. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to see her again until next Thursday because we were off school for the first half of next week because of Mardi Gras. Maybe I could invite her over? I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind. It’s not like we had anything planned for the holiday.

Hey, Ki, are you okay?

I snap back to reality and see KD and Tay looking at me, concerned. I just nod and tell them that I was daydreaming. Of course, they connect it to Kylie and tease me about it. I can’t fight them on that because they’re not wrong. This was how It’d been for me lately. I would constantly get lost in Kylie-filled thoughts. If only I dared to talk to her first and admit my feelings instead of keeping them to myself. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Tay, Kanani, and I spent the next few hours talking about what we planned to do on our break for the next few days. We decided to go to the mall on Tuesday since most people would probably be partying, so it won’t be as packed. A lot of kids at school had talked about going to New Orleans and surrounding areas for the break but I’d rather not. That was the worst time to go in my opinion, especially since none of us were old enough to legally drink and party for real. Besides, I’d spent so many summers in New Orleans visiting family members, so it wasn’t that exciting for me anymore. I’d seen most of what was there to see over the years.

What if you invited Kylie? KD asks suddenly.

Invite her where?

To the mall, she says, That way you’ll have an excuse to see her.

Oooh, that’s a great idea! Tay adds. She grabs my hand and smiles a bright smile at me. You can do it. We’ll be right here if you need support.

Kanani nods and wraps her arm around my shoulder. They assured me that the nerves would be worth it in the end because I would get to hang out with Kylie. I smile at them and nod. I did want to spend more time with her. Maybe we could all go to the movies together. That would be the perfect chance to sit beside her. I feel the pace of my heartbeat pick up again as I pick up my phone with my free hand and begin to dial Kylie’s number. Right before I hit the call button, I froze.

No, I can’t do this, I whine and hand the phone to Tay. My heart is beating so fast that I can’t even hear myself think.

Aww, that’s so cute! KD says and hugs me. She pats my head. You’re so adorable, Ki.

And I bet Kylie thinks so too! Tay adds and hands the phone back to me. You can do this Ki. We believe in you.

I sigh and take the phone back.

It was now or never.

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Kylie Bennett - February 17th, 2012

I was so glad to finally have a break from school, even if it was only a few days. The first semester of my sophomore year had been so hectic because of classes and the extracurriculars I was participating in. Not only was I on the varsity volleyball team but I was also taking gifted classes and was part of Team Spirit and Key Club. At one point I was even working a part-time job, but my parents made me quit because they felt like I was pushing myself too hard. They were really supportive of me and always let me participate in any activities since I was younger, and for that, I appreciated them so much.

Even when I came out to them a few years ago, they still accepted me and loved me. I was blessed to be raised in a house full of love and I never take that for granted. I’m my parents' only child. You see, they had a hard time conceiving for the longest and when they did, they ended up losing the baby. That happened a few times before I finally made it here, healthy and strong. I was kind of like a miracle child according to my parents.

But all of that was irrelevant at the moment. What was important was figuring out how I planned to spend these next few days off. We didn’t go back to school until Thursday, so I had 5 days to do whatever I wanted. One thing I knew for sure was that I was going to spend at least one of those days sleeping. No studying, no hanging with friends, no watching TV, just sleeping for 24 hours straight. I was running off 4 hours of sleep a night lately because of all the schoolwork and projects I had to do since coming back from Christmas Break. I was exhausted, to say the least.

I sit up on my bed and look over at the clock on my bedside table. 5:47. School had let out a few hours ago and I had come straight to my room and lay in bed as soon as I made it home. I didn’t even bother to get my afternoon snack. I was starting to regret that decision as my stomach began to rumble. I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch, so I knew it was time to see what we had in the fridge to eat.

I get up from my bed and make my way down the hall. Right as I reach the kitchen, I hear a knock at the door. Both of my parents were out at a charity event so that only left 3 people that would be knocking on my door at this time of day. It was either my friends Elizah and Gabrione or my cousin Jorian.

As expected, my friends Elizah and Gabrione (aka Lizah or Liz and Bri) are standing there smiling when I open the door. They come in and instantly make themselves at home. This is how it’s been for years now. They were my best friends and my parents loved them as if they were their own. It was pretty wholesome if you ask me. They were both a bit younger than me, but we’d been friends for so long that the age gap was never a problem.

I first met Elizah back during summer camp when I was 8. She was actually friends with my cousin Jorian first because their parents were close, and they lived next door to each other. But that summer, my parents decided to put me in the same camp as Jorian and Lizah happened to go there too. All three of us hung out every day that summer and Lizah and I became really good friends. Then during the school year, we all ended up going to school together but since Jorian’s birthday was late, he was always in a grade below Elizah.

Elizah met Gabrione in 7th grade and she introduced her to Jorian and me. This was around the time that Jorian skipped a few grades and ended up being in the same grade as me. He started to play basketball and was a bit busier because of practice. That didn’t stop him from hanging out with us when he could, resulting in us becoming the dynamic quartet we are today. I’m pretty sure the only reason he wasn’t here today was because he was busy. It had to be something important too because he rarely passed on a chance to hang out with Elizah. He could deny it all he wanted, but I knew the truth. He’d been head over heels for her since they were like 10 or something. Of course, Elizah was too oblivious to see it.

So, what do you guys wanna do this weekend? Lizah asks, bringing me back to reality. We have 5 days free, and I DEFINITELY don’t want to waste it staying at my house. My brother is already working my nerves.

Elizah had an older brother named Shawn who was a senior. He has been very protective of her ever since their mom passed away a few years ago. She hated it when he bossed her around and always told us that she couldn’t wait until he went to college. I thought her brother was pretty nice, but he was a no-nonsense type of person. She also had a younger brother named Ja’Kyr, but he was a quiet kid who just liked to play video games.

Yeah, and my baby cousins are staying with us for the next week so there's nothing but screaming going on in my house, Bri adds. Like having 4 younger siblings wasn’t enough chaos already.

Gabrione, on the other hand, was the oldest child in her family. She had 4 younger siblings thanks to her parent's love for children. After her sister was born, her parents decided that they wanted to become adoptive parents to children who needed a stable home. That’s how she ended up with